Controls carried out at the Saint-Maurice toll gate on France’s A36 motorway have resulted in two drivers being fined over €7,000 for violating laws on cabotage, tachographs and vehicle weight.
According to estrepublicain.fr, the drivers were carrying 5 tonnes of items in a vehicle permitted to transport 3.5 tonnes. In addition, the vehicle’s trailer was also overloaded. On top of that, neither driver had a transport licence, while the tachograph in the vehicle was broken.
Olivier Thirion, director of road projects at DREAL (France’s Regional Directorate of Environment, Planning and Housing), said that the A36 was a popular route for cabotage as vehicles return eastwards. The checks, he says, are thus being carried out to prevent French carriers being subject to unfair competition.
The aforementioned vehicle was one of 50 to have violated transport laws during Tuesday’s inspection.
Besides the €7,000 fines referred to above, one driver was fined €3,000 for tachograph manipulation, while another was found guilty of overloading his vehicle and breaking rules on rest periods.
According to Thirion, the latter driver „lived a dog’s life” due to the fact he had been driving for so many hours „in defiance of safety”.
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